Pneumatic for self-playing musical instruments.



G. H. PARSONS.

PNEUMATIC'FOR SELF PLAYING MUSICM INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 24, |914.

1,185,708. Patented June 6,1916. 3s 53 'Illlflllll y l ,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\unm;\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ TME coLuMmA FLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON. D. c.

- main bellows.

UNITEDk STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE I-I. PARSONS, OF STAMFORI), CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO` KROEG-ER PIANO COMPANY, OF STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PNEUMATIC FOR SELF-PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. PARSONS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Stamford, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented an Improvement in Pneumatics for Self-Playing Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to self playing musical instruments and has for its object to provide a pneumatic, so called, which shall be simple and economical in construction, thoroughly efficient in operation, and durable and easy of access, my novel construction permitting the independent removal of each valve and striking bellowswithout the necessity for breaking any glued joint.

With these and other objects in view I have devised the novel pneumatic which I will now describe, referring to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this speciication and using reference characters to indicate the several parts.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a wind chest and a number of the pneumatics operating in connection therewith, a portion of the wind chest being broken away to show the construction in horizontal section; Fig. 2 a vertical section on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1, the parts being in the normal position; Fig. 3 an elevation of the valve as seen from the right in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a view partly in elevation and partly in section as seen from the'line indicated by 4: in Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow, and Fig. l5 is a view corresponding with Fig. 2 showing the position of the parts at the instant a perforation in a music roll is passing the corresponding port in the tracker-bar.

It is of course well understood that a complete player-piano action requires eightyeight pneumatics conveniently placed in what is termed the pneumatic stack, for eX- ample in two rows of forty-four each. This arrangement requires two horizontal wind chests, each of which communicates with the As this structure is common to pneumatic actions I have not illustrated Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 6, 1916.

applicati@ mea June 24, 1914. serial No. 846,991.

the main bellows and have illustrated a p0rtion only of one of the rows of a pneumatic stack, it being deemed suflicient for the purposes of this specification to state that the wind chest communicates in any ordinary or preferred manner with the main bellows.

10 denotes a wind chest which is provided in one side with a plurality of openings 1l each leading into a pouch chamber 12. These pouch chambers may in practice be made in sections of fifteen, fifteen and fourteen, it being wholly immaterial however, so far as the present invention is concerned, whether the pouch chambers are made independently or in groups or sections. The other side of the wind chest is provided with a plurality of openings 13 each leading into a valve chamber 1-1 in a head 15 which is removably attached to the wind chest as by screws 16. Each head has in its side an outer opening 17.

18 denotes a port in each head leading into a striking bellows 19 which is secured to the head and is removable therewith.

Each valve chamber has suspended therein a valve 20 which is adapted to cover and close alternately opening 13 in the wind chest and opening 17 in the head. The novel feature of the valves is that each swings on its own axis in a yoke-21 which is itself suspended so as to swing freely. In the present instance I have shown the valve as pivoted to the yoke by means of a pin or pins 22 and the yoke as pivoted to the head of a screw stud 23 which engages the wind chest.

24: denotes the tracker bar, 25 a port therein and 26 a pipe leading from the tracker bar to the pouch chamber.

Within each pouch chamber, and closing that side of the wind chest, is a diaphragm 27 having secured thereto a central disk 28. These diaphragms may be made independently or the diaphragm for a section of the pouch chambers may be made in a continuous strip, as indicated in Fig. 1, and gripped between each pouch chamber and the wind chest.

Extending longitudinally between each disk 28 and the corresponding valve 20 is a horizontal slide rod 29 which moves freely in a bearing block 30. in the wind chest.

31 denotes a passage extending from each pouch chamber outside the diaphragm, to the wind chest. Vithin this passage is a thimble 32 having a small opening through it. This passage including the thimble with the small opening is common to mechanisms of this character, is called the bleed, and can be placed wherever is most convenient, its function being to produce a partial vacuum in the pounch chamber.

The striking bellows is shown as provided with an extension 33 which is engaged by an action rod 34 having a head 35 which rests upon the extension. This rod coperates with the action and causes the striking of a note when the striking bellows collapses, as in Fig. 5.

The operation is as follows: The normal position of the parts is as in Fig. 2. As the pneumatics all operate in the same manner I will describe the operation of one only. As soon as the main bellows (not shown) is operated, air is exhausted from the wind chest which causes the valve to close opening 13 but permits air to pass freely through opening 17 in the head and port 18 into the striking bellows. The record (not shown) normally closes the ports in the tracker bar. When a perforation in the record registers with a port in the tracker bar air passes through said port and through pipe 26 to the pouch chamber, filling the pouch chamberand forcing the diaphragm and disk 28 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 5, the effect of which is to move slide rod 29 in the bearing block and cause the valve to uncover opening 13 in the wind chest and to instantly close opening 17 in the head. The suction of the wind chest now operates through port 18 to exhaust the air in the striking bellows which collapses as in Fig. 5 and actuates rod 34, causing the playing of a note. As soon as the port in the tracker bar is closed by the record, air will be drawn from the pouch chamber through the bleed, causing a partial vacuum in the pouch chamber so that the air pressure upon the valve through opening 17 in the head will act instantly to return the parts to their normal position, as in Fig. 2. It will be obvious that when the air pressure in the pouch chamber and the head is balanced the pressure of the air against the greater area of the diaphragm will overcome the pressure against the smaller area of the valve, but the instant the air in the pouch chamber is partly exhausted through the bleed, the pressure upon the valve at the outer opening will overcome the resistance of the diaphragm and the valve will uncover the outer opening, close opening 13 in the wind chest and return the slide rod to its normal position, and will permit air to pass through port 18, which, assisted by the weight of the action rod, will expand the striking bellows as in Fig. 9..

I-Iaving thus described my invention I claim:

1. A mechanism of the character described, comprising a wind chest, a pouch chamber, a head, a striking bellows, said bellows communicating with the head and the head having an opening to the wind chest and also an outer opening, a diaphragm in the pouch chamber, a swinging valve adapted to close either opening, and a shiftable member arranged intermediate the diaphragm and the valve and adapted to abut against the said diaphragm and valve and to be actuated by either of said members.

2. A mechanism of the character described, comprising a wind chest, a pouch cham ber, a head, a striking bellows, said bellows communicating with the head and the head having an opening to the wind chest and also an outer opening, a diaphragm in the pouch chamber, a swinging valve adapted to close either opening, and a shiftable member arranged intermediate the diaphragm and the valve and adapted to abut against the said diaphragm and valve and to be actuated by either of said members to operate the other member.

3. A mechanism of the character described, comprising a wind chest, a pouch chamber, a striking bellows, a head, said'head opening into the wind chest and the striking bellows and having an outer opening, a diaphragm in the pouch chamber, a valve in the head adapted to close either the opening in the wind chest or the outer opening, and a rod shiftably suspended within the sound box and adapted to abut at its ends against the diaphragm and the valve and to be actuated by either of said members.

4;. A mechanism of the character described, comprising a wind chest, a pouch chamber, a striking bellows, a head, said head opening into the wind chest and the striking bellows and having an outer opening, a diaphragm in the pouch chamber, a valve in the head adapted to close either the opening in the wind chest or the outer opening, and adjustable means for swingingly supporting the Valve, and means intermediate the diaphragm and the valve to be actuated by either of said members to operate the other member.

5. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination with a wind chest, a pouch chamber, a striking bellows, and a head, said head opening into the wind chest and the striking bellows and having an outer opening, a diaphragm in the pouch chamber, a valve n the head adapted to close either the opening in the Wind chest In testimony whereof I aiX my signature o1' the outer opening, a swinging yfoke In in presence of two Witnesses.

which the valve is suspended, means or a just-ing the yoke', and an operating connes GEORGE H' PARSONS' tion intermediate the diaphragm and the Witnesses:

valve to be actuated by either of said mem- P. HARRY CoUoI-I,

bers. E. M. CULVER.

Copies of this patent may be *obtained for ve cents each, by nddreuing the Commissioner at Intent. Wallington, D. c." 

